Kilkenny woman living life to the full after ill-health

The expression 'making the most of life' is one that most people wish to follow but so many fail to fulfill in practice.

However, for one Kilkenny woman, this positive ideology has become a hallmark of her life today, with every given opportunity to squeeze the bottle of life snapped up.

Bridget Langton from Graignamanagh in Co Kilkenny is on top of the world in 2023, running a successful B&B with her husband and travelling to far flung destinations around the world on a regular basis.

Even so, Bridget's story has been far from smooth sailing. During her pregnancy with her first child 1989, what should have been an exciting, love-filled period took a cruel blow. After a period of feeling unwell, tests uncovered Bridget had renal failure. The 'shock' still a vivid memory for the Kilkenny native to this day.

Following years of monitoring, it was decided in 1994 that she should receive home dialysis treatment. Bridget was a dealt a sucker punch after two trials, with the grave discovery that the treatment was not working.

The cruel deck of cards handed out to Bridget left her in a precarious position until her luck appeared to change.

Bridget recalls a day in October 1995 where she received the 'magical call' that a donor kidney had been found. At last, the cruel force holding all the aces was beginning to lose its grip on the game. Or so Bridget thought...

In hospital, ready to be wheelchaired down to the operating table, Bridget received an accute anxiety attack and the transplant operation was cancelled. This 'crushing event' lead to a spiral into depression. When all seemed lost, a second opportunity to live a meaningful life arose.

May, 1996, will be permanently cemented in her mind as the day her life changed for the better. 

A call from Beaumont Hospital with news of a transplant gave Bridget a new lease of life. Business and academic success soon followed and to this day she has visited the four corners of the globe, with a special affection for the African region.

The Kilkenny woman has visited Tanzania with her husband on five occasions and has used her second chance to carry out critical charity work in the area.

Now, as the local she continues to help others through her work with the Irish Kidney Association, she hopes others will consider organ donation, giving others in dire need of help, one more chance.